Press release No. 272 of 19 June 2020

Turnover in accommodation and food service activities, May 2020
+44.9% on the previous month (in real terms, calendar and seasonally adjusted, provisional)
+45.2% on the previous month (in nominal terms, calendar and seasonally adjusted, provisional)
-64.0% on the same month a year earlier (in real terms, provisional)
-63.4% on the same month a year earlier (in nominal terms, provisional)

WIESBADEN – The relaxation of corona protection measures had an impact on the German hotels and restaurants sector in May 2020. In comparison with April 2020, the turnover from the hotel and restaurant sector increased by 44.9% in real terms (after calendar and seasonal adjustment) and by 45.2% in nominal terms in May 2020.

As further reported by the Federal Statistical Office, turnover in the hotels and restaurants sector fell by 64.0% in real terms (price-adjusted) and by 63.4% in nominal terms (not price-adjusted) in May 2020 compared with May 2019. Compared with February 2020, the month before the coronavirus pandemic hit Germany, turnover declined by 64.9% in real terms and by 64.8% in nominal terms

The turnover reported by the hotels and other accommodation establishments was 80.0% (real) lower than in May 2019. In the food and beverage services, turnover fell by real 54.6% compared with May 2019. Within food and beverage service activities, the real turnover of caterers in May 2020 was by 54.1% lower than in the same month of the previous year.

These developments were due to the current prohibitions on overnight stays by tourist guests in hotels and other holiday and leisure facilities and the closure of restaurants and bars with the exception of pick-up and delivery services in March and April 2020. In the period from 9 to 18 May 2020, these regulations were gradually relaxed in all federal states of Germany.

European data on accommodation and food services
Results on accommodation and food services in other EU countries are contained in the Eurostat’s database. At the moment the database includes data for almost all countries for April 2020

Methodological notes:
The survey covers enterprises in the in accommodation and food services sector with a turnover of at least 150 000 Euro per year. Destatis takes into account late notifications from the enterprises surveyed and therefore continuously updates the first proven results.

The revision tables provide information on the impact of the updates on the results.

The results of accommodation and food services statistics may differ from those of tourism statistics, especially in the summer months, because turnover in accommodation establishments does not always match the date of overnight stays. Methodological differences may also lead to different results.

Time series are available in table Turnover from accommodation and food services (45213-0005) in the GENESIS-Online database.

Results on Turnover in accommodation and food services are available on the “Corona statistics“ webpage of the Federal Statistical Office together with other indicators which can be used to assess the economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic.

German EU Council Presidency
As of 1 July, the Federal Statistical Office will organise the meetings of the Council Working Party on Statistics to be held during Germany’s EU Council Presidency under the chairmanship of its President Dr. Georg Thiel. Information on our activities during the Presidency of the Council of the EU is provided at destatis.de/eu2020.

European statistics are available under „ Europe in figures“ on our website at www.destatis.de.